I'm going to make the Brazilian Fish Stew this weekend. Did you halve
the recipe? It seems pretty big with 3 pounds of fish meat in there;
I was worried that it wouldn't re-heat very well because of the fish
getting tough and tasteless. Any other hints before I proceed?
Janet US

On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:19:02 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:

>
> I'm going to make the Brazilian Fish Stew this weekend. Did you halve
> the recipe? It seems pretty big with 3 pounds of fish meat in there;
> I was worried that it wouldn't re-heat very well because of the fish
> getting tough and tasteless. Any other hints before I proceed?
> Janet US

Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
and a little more stock than was called for.


--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-03-22 01:39:57 +0000, sf said:

> On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:19:02 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> > wrote:
>
>>
>> I'm going to make the Brazilian Fish Stew this weekend. Did you halve
>> the recipe? It seems pretty big with 3 pounds of fish meat in there;
>> I was worried that it wouldn't re-heat very well because of the fish
>> getting tough and tasteless. Any other hints before I proceed?
>> Janet US
>
> Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
> bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
> proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
> else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
> and a little more stock than was called for.

Where might I find said recipe?

On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:05:15 -0700, gtr > wrote:

> On 2013-03-22 01:39:57 +0000, sf said:
>
> > On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:19:02 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> > > wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> I'm going to make the Brazilian Fish Stew this weekend. Did you halve
> >> the recipe? It seems pretty big with 3 pounds of fish meat in there;
> >> I was worried that it wouldn't re-heat very well because of the fish
> >> getting tough and tasteless. Any other hints before I proceed?
> >> Janet US
> >
> > Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
> > bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
> > proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
> > else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
> > and a little more stock than was called for.
>
> Where might I find said recipe?

I was looking at these (and I used more fish than would be indicated)
http://www.emerils.com/recipe/7950/Brazilian-Fish-Stew
and
http://southamericanfood.about.com/o...ilFishStew.htm

As it was, I had so much of the "soupy" part leftover even after I cut
the volume in half, that I froze it to use later - so you could cut
everything back even more.


--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-03-22 04:27:27 +0000, sf said:

> On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:05:15 -0700, gtr > wrote:
>
>> On 2013-03-22 01:39:57 +0000, sf said:
>>
>>> On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:19:02 -0600, Janet Bostwick
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I'm going to make the Brazilian Fish Stew this weekend. Did you halve
>>>> the recipe? It seems pretty big with 3 pounds of fish meat in there;
>>>> I was worried that it wouldn't re-heat very well because of the fish
>>>> getting tough and tasteless. Any other hints before I proceed?
>>>> Janet US
>>>
>>> Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
>>> bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
>>> proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
>>> else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
>>> and a little more stock than was called for.
>>
>> Where might I find said recipe?
>
> I was looking at these (and I used more fish than would be indicated)
> http://www.emerils.com/recipe/7950/Brazilian-Fish-Stew
> and
> http://southamericanfood.about.com/o...ilFishStew.htm
>
> As it was, I had so much of the "soupy" part leftover even after I cut
> the volume in half, that I froze it to use later - so you could cut
> everything back even more.
>

Moqueca deÂ*peixe, mmm€¦ That sounds like it's about right with my
(limited) skill set, and the wife would love it. I may give it a shot.

On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:44:55 -0700, gtr > wrote:

> Moqueca de*peixe, mmm… That sounds like it's about right with my
> (limited) skill set, and the wife would love it. I may give it a shot.

Let me know what you think if you decide to take the plunge.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-03-22 15:14:55 +0000, sf said:

> On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:44:55 -0700, gtr > wrote:
>
>> Moqueca de*peixe, mmm. That sounds like it's about right with my
>> (limited) skill set, and the wife would love it. I may give it a shot.
>
> Let me know what you think if you decide to take the plunge.

We just picked up some beautiful Pacific Rockfish, then I checked the
recipe and noted that one of the recipes mentions dende oil which we're
out of. Probably just as well; my digestive tract quibbles with dende
oil about half the time.

I'm reminded of one reason why I love moqueca de peixe so much: The
wife use to make it a number of years back. Oh well, it will be a fun
group project.

On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:56:30 -0700, gtr > wrote:

> On 2013-03-22 15:14:55 +0000, sf said:
>
> > On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:44:55 -0700, gtr > wrote:
> >
> >> Moqueca de*peixe, mmm. That sounds like it's about right with my
> >> (limited) skill set, and the wife would love it. I may give it a shot.
> >
> > Let me know what you think if you decide to take the plunge.
>
> We just picked up some beautiful Pacific Rockfish,

Rockfish is perfect!

> then I checked the
> recipe and noted that one of the recipes mentions dende oil which we're
> out of. Probably just as well; my digestive tract quibbles with dende
> oil about half the time.
>
> I'm reminded of one reason why I love moqueca de peixe so much: The
> wife use to make it a number of years back. Oh well, it will be a fun
> group project.

I didn't bother with the dende oil, gtr, and it was very tasty anyway
AFAIWC. If it adds something extra special, I didn't know what I was
missing because I'd never eaten the dish before. In this case,
ignorance was bliss!

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-03-25 01:09:37 +0000, sf said:

> On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:56:30 -0700, gtr > wrote:
>
>> On 2013-03-22 15:14:55 +0000, sf said:
>>
>>> On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:44:55 -0700, gtr > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Moqueca de*peixe, mmm. That sounds like it's about right with my
>>>> (limited) skill set, and the wife would love it. I may give it a shot.
>>>
>>> Let me know what you think if you decide to take the plunge.
>>
>> We just picked up some beautiful Pacific Rockfish,
>
> Rockfish is perfect!

I was looking for snapper, and that's what they call rockfish a lot these days.

>> then I checked the recipe and noted that one of the recipes mentions
>> dende oil which we're out of. Probably just as well; my digestive tract
>> quibbles with dende oil about half the time.
>>
>> I'm reminded of one reason why I love moqueca de peixe so much: The
>> wife use to make it a number of years back. Oh well, it will be a fun
>> group project.
>
> I didn't bother with the dende oil, gtr, and it was very tasty anyway
> AFAIWC. If it adds something extra special, I didn't know what I was
> missing because I'd never eaten the dish before. In this case,
> ignorance was bliss!

All in all, things worked out pretty well. I remembered there's a
little pan-American market two blocks from here that had dende oil,
some manioc flour and some malagueta peppers too. So we had the dish
with some farofa.

I consulted two or three other recipes but made the one by Blazes that
you relayed. It's kind of odd, frankly. I wondered if all those
peppers and the onions would be well enough cooked when the fish was.
The onions weren't. It still tasted great, and Nancy made some
Brazilian garlicky rice, a side of carrots and fennel and a little
tomato/cucumber salad. The farofa was fun and reminds me how grreat
that stuff can be.

Most of the recipes have you sauteing the onions and veggies before
throwing the fish in, I think that's a better approach, so I'll temper
that on the next pass. We're plotting more moqueca dishes, it works
well with shrimp as well as a sturdy white fish. We've got the dende,
so we might as well. For chile powder we used Japanese shichimi and it
was great. The whole thing was pretty glorious.

On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:18:11 -0700, gtr > wrote:

> On 2013-03-25 01:09:37 +0000, sf said:
>
> > On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:56:30 -0700, gtr > wrote:
> >
> >> On 2013-03-22 15:14:55 +0000, sf said:
> >>
> >>> On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:44:55 -0700, gtr > wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Moqueca de*peixe, mmm. That sounds like it's about right with my
> >>>> (limited) skill set, and the wife would love it. I may give it a shot.
> >>>
> >>> Let me know what you think if you decide to take the plunge.
> >>
> >> We just picked up some beautiful Pacific Rockfish,
> >
> > Rockfish is perfect!
>
> I was looking for snapper, and that's what they call rockfish a lot these days.

Yes, it seems to be the common alternate name for rockfish here on the
West coast. I've also used cod and it was fine too.
>
> >> then I checked the recipe and noted that one of the recipes mentions
> >> dende oil which we're out of. Probably just as well; my digestive tract
> >> quibbles with dende oil about half the time.
> >>
> >> I'm reminded of one reason why I love moqueca de peixe so much: The
> >> wife use to make it a number of years back. Oh well, it will be a fun
> >> group project.
> >
> > I didn't bother with the dende oil, gtr, and it was very tasty anyway
> > AFAIWC. If it adds something extra special, I didn't know what I was
> > missing because I'd never eaten the dish before. In this case,
> > ignorance was bliss!
>
> All in all, things worked out pretty well. I remembered there's a
> little pan-American market two blocks from here that had dende oil,
> some manioc flour and some malagueta peppers too. So we had the dish
> with some farofa.
>
> I consulted two or three other recipes but made the one by Blazes that
> you relayed. It's kind of odd, frankly. I wondered if all those
> peppers and the onions would be well enough cooked when the fish was.
> The onions weren't. It still tasted great, and Nancy made some
> Brazilian garlicky rice, a side of carrots and fennel and a little
> tomato/cucumber salad. The farofa was fun and reminds me how grreat
> that stuff can be.

That's why I don't usually follow any recipe exactly as written and
consult many, as you said you did. When they vary, you know it's
written to personal taste and mine is as good as theirs.
>
> Most of the recipes have you sauteing the onions and veggies before
> throwing the fish in, I think that's a better approach, so I'll temper
> that on the next pass. We're plotting more moqueca dishes, it works
> well with shrimp as well as a sturdy white fish. We've got the dende,
> so we might as well. For chile powder we used Japanese shichimi and it
> was great. The whole thing was pretty glorious.
>
The recipes that don't have you precook the vegetables tell you to
cook the stew a long time. Come to think of it, I used the last of my
bag of Trader Joe's frozen multi colored peppers, so they were soft to
begin with. What I did was cook the stew the 30-40 minutes called
for, but didn't add the fish until the end. I added it in big chunks
(of less than 2 inches) and didn't let it go any more than 5-10
minutes, serving when it was just cooked through.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-03-25 18:31:50 +0000, sf said:

>> I consulted two or three other recipes but made the one by Blazes that
>> you relayed. It's kind of odd, frankly. I wondered if all those
>> peppers and the onions would be well enough cooked when the fish was.
>> The onions weren't. It still tasted great, and Nancy made some
>> Brazilian garlicky rice, a side of carrots and fennel and a little
>> tomato/cucumber salad. The farofa was fun and reminds me how grreat
>> that stuff can be.
>
> That's why I don't usually follow any recipe exactly as written and
> consult many, as you said you did. When they vary, you know it's
> written to personal taste and mine is as good as theirs.

Also, though sometimes I'm lucky, I have gotten to the point where any
"grand recipe project" is considered a test-run or lab-test: I assume
it will have conspicuous flaws that will be eliminated on the second
pass. This also assumes that in the first pass I'll decide the general
project has conspicuous merit.

Having said all that, I'm delighted to many of my first passes have
turned out so well over the past year.

>> Most of the recipes have you sauteing the onions and veggies before
>> throwing the fish in, I think that's a better approach, so I'll temper
>> that on the next pass. We're plotting more moqueca dishes, it works
>> well with shrimp as well as a sturdy white fish. We've got the dende,
>> so we might as well. For chile powder we used Japanese shichimi and it
>> was great. The whole thing was pretty glorious.
>>
> The recipes that don't have you precook the vegetables tell you to
> cook the stew a long time. Come to think of it, I used the last of my
> bag of Trader Joe's frozen multi colored peppers, so they were soft to
> begin with. What I did was cook the stew the 30-40 minutes called
> for, but didn't add the fish until the end. I added it in big chunks
> (of less than 2 inches) and didn't let it go any more than 5-10
> minutes, serving when it was just cooked through.

My conclusion as well: fish last. Additionally onions first.

Ate it last night as well: Two days running. It's amazing what a day
in the fridge does to soups and sauces!

On 2013-03-22 01:39:57 +0000, sf said:

> On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:19:02 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> > wrote:
>
>>
>> I'm going to make the Brazilian Fish Stew this weekend. Did you halve
>> the recipe? It seems pretty big with 3 pounds of fish meat in there;
>> I was worried that it wouldn't re-heat very well because of the fish
>> getting tough and tasteless. Any other hints before I proceed?
>> Janet US
>
> Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
> bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
> proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
> else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
> and a little more stock than was called for.

Trying this again this weekend. This time for a party of 10. This
should be interesting...

fsd

On Thu, 16 May 2013 21:36:03 -0700, gtr > wrote:

> On 2013-03-22 01:39:57 +0000, sf said:
>
> > On Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:19:02 -0600, Janet Bostwick
> > > wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> I'm going to make the Brazilian Fish Stew this weekend. Did you halve
> >> the recipe? It seems pretty big with 3 pounds of fish meat in there;
> >> I was worried that it wouldn't re-heat very well because of the fish
> >> getting tough and tasteless. Any other hints before I proceed?
> >> Janet US
> >
> > Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
> > bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
> > proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
> > else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
> > and a little more stock than was called for.
>
> Trying this again this weekend. This time for a party of 10. This
> should be interesting...

Please keep me posted! A party of 10 is really giving it full faith!

Thumbs up -

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-05-17 06:08:21 +0000, sf said:

>>> Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
>>> bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
>>> proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
>>> else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
>>> and a little more stock than was called for.

Incidentally I notice no call for stock. The wife made a fish stock
from very meaty salmon bones (bought at Mitsuwa), for a fish chowder a
few months back. A velvety ambrosia. Once the soup was made, to
raves, we were quick to consider the bones for this dish. Picked them
up today. Then came home and noted the only fluid is the coconut milk,
and we halfed that, somewhat worried it would take the thing over.

Now we're figuring to make the broth anyhow and freeze it, then move on
to the moqueca.

>> Trying this again this weekend. This time for a party of 10. This
>> should be interesting...
>
> Please keep me posted! A party of 10 is really giving it full faith!
>
> Thumbs up -

It seems logical: For a group that big individual portions of anything
are frequently either too big or too little. With the stew mode they
can take a little or a lot.

On 2013-05-17 06:27:09 +0000, gtr said:

> On 2013-05-17 06:08:21 +0000, sf said:
>
>>>> Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
>>>> bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. I cut the
>>>> proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
>>>> else. Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
>>>> and a little more stock than was called for.
>
> Incidentally I notice no call for stock. The wife made a fish stock
> from very meaty salmon bones (bought at Mitsuwa), for a fish chowder a
> few months back. A velvety ambrosia. Once the soup was made, to
> raves, we were quick to consider the bones for this dish. Picked them
> up today. Then came home and noted the only fluid is the coconut milk,
> and we halfed that, somewhat worried it would take the thing over.
>
> Now we're figuring to make the broth anyhow and freeze it, then move on
> to the moqueca.
>
>>> Trying this again this weekend. This time for a party of 10. This
>>> should be interesting...
>>
>> Please keep me posted! A party of 10 is really giving it full faith!
>>
>> Thumbs up -
>
> It seems logical: For a group that big individual portions of anything
> are frequently either too big or too little. With the stew mode they
> can take a little or a lot.

We used 3.5 lbs fish, again the Pacific rock fish (or whatever it's
called upstream), and at least doubled most everything from the
original recipe. When preparing this for two I saw from my notes that I
didn't think the taste bright or well-defined enough. At the same time
I had cheated down the dende and coconut milk, and instead of chili
used Japanese shichimi pepper and not as much of it. I was reticent as
Nancy is uncomfortable with "too spicy". Or so she says, though I've
rarely seen her actually balk.

Anyway, I was wrong on all counts. So this time, cooking for the group,
I came *almost* to the suggested dende levels, used all the coconut
milk, and full levels of cayenne and chili powder. The group trilled
its glories.

On May 23, 9:59*am, gtr > wrote:
> On 2013-05-17 06:27:09 +0000, gtr said:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 2013-05-17 06:08:21 +0000, sf said:
>
> >>>> Yes, I don't reheat fish either - although I think there was a little
> >>>> bit leftover that hubby ate for lunch the following day. *I cut the
> >>>> proportions down and estimated how much I wanted/needed of everything
> >>>> else. *Coconut milk freezes well, so I used half a can of coconut milk
> >>>> and a little more stock than was called for.
>
> > Incidentally I notice no call for stock. *The wife made a fish stock
> > from very meaty salmon bones (bought at Mitsuwa), for a fish chowder a
> > few months back. *A velvety ambrosia. *Once the soup was made, to
> > raves, we were quick to consider the bones for this dish. Picked them
> > up today. *Then came home and noted the only fluid is the coconut milk,
> > and we halfed that, somewhat worried it would take the thing over.
>
> > Now we're figuring to make the broth anyhow and freeze it, then move on
> > to the moqueca.
>
> >>> Trying this again this weekend. *This time for a party of 10. *This
> >>> should be interesting...
>
> >> Please keep me posted! *A party of 10 is really giving it full faith!
>
> >> Thumbs up *- *
>
> > It seems logical: For a group that big individual portions of anything
> > are frequently either too big or too little. *With the stew mode they
> > can take a little or a lot.
>
> We used 3.5 lbs fish, again the Pacific rock fish (or whatever it's
> called upstream), and at least doubled most everything from the
> original recipe. When preparing this for two I saw from my notes that I
> didn't think the taste bright or well-defined enough. At the same time
> I had cheated down the dende and coconut milk, and instead of chili
> used Japanese shichimi pepper and not as much of it. I was reticent as
> Nancy is uncomfortable with "too spicy". *Or so she says, though I've
> rarely seen her actually balk.
>
> Anyway, I was wrong on all counts. So this time, cooking for the group,
> I came *almost* to the suggested dende levels, used all the coconut
> milk, and full levels of cayenne and chili powder. *The group trilled
> its glories.

Glad it came out great for you.
I'm intrigued enough with this recipe to try it myself this weekend.

On Thu, 23 May 2013 09:59:43 -0700, gtr > wrote:

> We used 3.5 lbs fish, again the Pacific rock fish (or whatever it's
> called upstream), and at least doubled most everything from the
> original recipe. When preparing this for two I saw from my notes that I
> didn't think the taste bright or well-defined enough. At the same time
> I had cheated down the dende and coconut milk, and instead of chili
> used Japanese shichimi pepper and not as much of it. I was reticent as
> Nancy is uncomfortable with "too spicy". Or so she says, though I've
> rarely seen her actually balk.
>
> Anyway, I was wrong on all counts. So this time, cooking for the group,
> I came *almost* to the suggested dende levels, used all the coconut
> milk, and full levels of cayenne and chili powder. The group trilled
> its glories.

Terrific! Did the recipe you used call for cilantro (which I love)
and did you use lime juice? It will definitely brighten the flavor.
Serve with wedges on the side too.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Thu, 23 May 2013 10:05:23 -0700 (PDT), ImStillMags
> wrote:

> I'm intrigued enough with this recipe to try it myself this weekend.

There are lots of variations, so as long as you have fish and coconut
milk - you're on the right track.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2013-05-23 23:21:01 +0000, sf said:

> On Thu, 23 May 2013 09:59:43 -0700, gtr > wrote:
>
>> We used 3.5 lbs fish, again the Pacific rock fish (or whatever it's
>> called upstream), and at least doubled most everything from the
>> original recipe. When preparing this for two I saw from my notes that I
>> didn't think the taste bright or well-defined enough. At the same time
>> I had cheated down the dende and coconut milk, and instead of chili
>> used Japanese shichimi pepper and not as much of it. I was reticent as
>> Nancy is uncomfortable with "too spicy". Or so she says, though I've
>> rarely seen her actually balk.
>>
>> Anyway, I was wrong on all counts. So this time, cooking for the group,
>> I came *almost* to the suggested dende levels, used all the coconut
>> milk, and full levels of cayenne and chili powder. The group trilled
>> its glories.
>
> Terrific! Did the recipe you used call for cilantro (which I love)
> and did you use lime juice? It will definitely brighten the flavor.
> Serve with wedges on the side too.

[ Attentiveness dwindles as I wean myself from usenet... ]

No cilantro called for. Lime juice only in the 1-4 hours of marinade,
in my case about 2.5.

Incidentally the vast amount of flavor shift from the initial pass to
this most recent pass was the dende oil, and to lesser extent the
cayenne/chili. Next time I'll definitely use the full levels of dende,
and may even push it.

I remember from dining on lots of Bahian fare in Brazil that dende oil
can make the digestive process more enthusiastic that is convenient.
But now I'm beginning to think their use was vastly more indescriminate
than I had imagined.